Pacific gray whales are still southbound and, with record sightings, it looks like a bonanza year! At the end of the migration trail, baby whales are being born. This week's focus is those cute and curious one-ton babies. Soon their journey north for 2012 will begin. Welcome!

Gray whales are boogeying past the Pacific coast in record numbers to reach the warm waters of Mexico. Many have already arrived. It's birthing time, and the best place for that is the warm, salty waters of Baja Mexico. The lagoons are like bus stations, with whales coming and going all winter and early spring. New mothers nurture babies, while older whales are there for fun. As they return northward, we'll share sighting news from a network of observers.

Counting the Whales Passing California
As we start the Journey North season, the ACS/LA Gray Whale Census and Behavior Project (Post #6) has been underway since December 1. Their 29th season started off with some record numbers! Project Director Alisa Schulman-Janiger reports: "Our trained volunteers counted more southbound gray whales in December 2011 than in any previous December!" They came in higher numbers and at least one week earlier than normal. So far they've seen just 5 northbound grays.

Baby Boom in the Lagoons?
Tour guide Keith Jones at Laguna Ojo de Liebre (Post #3 on the Migration Route) sent the numbers: 492 adults and 316 babies as of January 23.

Looking AheadThis season we'll be watching to see the turnaround period—when northbound whales start to outnumber southbound whales. We'll watch for three distinct pulses, or surges in numbers, to discover which age group is migrating. We'll hear from the government's leading expert on gray whale calf production and how it's connected with ice in the Arctic.

Read Field NotesClick on the map to see the migration route and Observation Posts. Click on a red dot to read the Field Notes at that post.

Get ready to track the migration! It's still early in the data collection, and very few whales have been seen on the journey north. Let's get acquainted with the data you'll see—and where it is from. Start here: